An open letter to the people in charge of the new Supes film...
Dear Chris Nolan, David Goyer, Zack Snyder, DC Comics, Geoff Johns, Warner Brothers and anyone else with a finger in this money pie
I've been a Superman fan since I was quite young, so I mean it when I say that this polemic comes from the heart. I've been reading reports of the newest and shiniest Superman film that's due to be released in 2012 with increasing alarm. Let me explain why.
First of all, I realise that what I say doesn't mean anything to anyone, and I'm only a fan without any power or influence. The people with the money are the ones who matter. On my less optimistic days I tend to agree with ABBA that this is indeed a rich man's world, and Superman has been a very giving cash cow for all the people who own parts of his legacy and so on. Is the new movie just another way of making money over and above, say, a good storyline? I know that this movie needs to be made before the rights are lost to the - let's face it - greedy heirs of Joe and Jerry, but rushing a film out for the sake of making a film is both short-sighted and unnecessary.
Secondly, why does the new film have to reboot the Superman story again? Everyone, even people who aren't fans of Superman, knows his origin story - fell to earth from an exploding planet, raised by the Kents, went to Metropolis, met Lois Lane, became Superman, secret identity, triangle-for-two, Lex Luthor, kryptonite.... etc etc. If this story has made its way so successfully into popular culture that anyone could tell you the story if you asked them, what's the point of trying to tell it again? While 'Superman Returns' wasn't the greatest film ever made, at least it did something a little different and started in the middle of the story.
Speaking of 'Superman Returns', I had issues with that film. If you really want to make another Superman film, don't turn the Man of Steel into a whiny stalker who thinks adultery is the way to go. Don't turn Clark into a spineless Silver Age-inspired idiot who gets stuck in the revolving door and can't tie his own shoelaces. Clark and Superman are the same person, not two different people in the same body. And for the love of all that is holy, don't turn Lois into a drab uninteresting dishcloth of a character.
More than anything, I want a Superman film that reminds me of why I fell in love with Clark Kent and Lois Lane and the world they live in. However, I'm not holding out much hope for that actually exising come 2012. A darker character with a gloomy outlook on life Superman is not, but I fear that that may be the final product.
I'm not expecting anyone to read this, but I wanted to send my thoughts out into the ether of the interwebs and hope against hope that, when I sit in my seat with a bucket of salted popcorn to watch the new Superman film, I'm going to love it.
Love,
A fan...... \S/
I've been a Superman fan since I was quite young, so I mean it when I say that this polemic comes from the heart. I've been reading reports of the newest and shiniest Superman film that's due to be released in 2012 with increasing alarm. Let me explain why.
First of all, I realise that what I say doesn't mean anything to anyone, and I'm only a fan without any power or influence. The people with the money are the ones who matter. On my less optimistic days I tend to agree with ABBA that this is indeed a rich man's world, and Superman has been a very giving cash cow for all the people who own parts of his legacy and so on. Is the new movie just another way of making money over and above, say, a good storyline? I know that this movie needs to be made before the rights are lost to the - let's face it - greedy heirs of Joe and Jerry, but rushing a film out for the sake of making a film is both short-sighted and unnecessary.
Secondly, why does the new film have to reboot the Superman story again? Everyone, even people who aren't fans of Superman, knows his origin story - fell to earth from an exploding planet, raised by the Kents, went to Metropolis, met Lois Lane, became Superman, secret identity, triangle-for-two, Lex Luthor, kryptonite.... etc etc. If this story has made its way so successfully into popular culture that anyone could tell you the story if you asked them, what's the point of trying to tell it again? While 'Superman Returns' wasn't the greatest film ever made, at least it did something a little different and started in the middle of the story.
Speaking of 'Superman Returns', I had issues with that film. If you really want to make another Superman film, don't turn the Man of Steel into a whiny stalker who thinks adultery is the way to go. Don't turn Clark into a spineless Silver Age-inspired idiot who gets stuck in the revolving door and can't tie his own shoelaces. Clark and Superman are the same person, not two different people in the same body. And for the love of all that is holy, don't turn Lois into a drab uninteresting dishcloth of a character.
More than anything, I want a Superman film that reminds me of why I fell in love with Clark Kent and Lois Lane and the world they live in. However, I'm not holding out much hope for that actually exising come 2012. A darker character with a gloomy outlook on life Superman is not, but I fear that that may be the final product.
I'm not expecting anyone to read this, but I wanted to send my thoughts out into the ether of the interwebs and hope against hope that, when I sit in my seat with a bucket of salted popcorn to watch the new Superman film, I'm going to love it.
Love,
A fan...... \S/